What is a Colocation Data Center?: An Introduction to Colocation Benefits, Challenges, Examples and Solutions

Introduction to Colocation Data Centers

What is a Colocation Data Center?

A multitenant data center (MTDC), or colocation data center, or colocation, or shortened to colo, or "carrier hotel", is a type of data center available for rental to customers (also called tenants). These centers provide the necessary security, power, cooling, and internet connectivity, while companies maintain control over their own equipment. This setup allows companies to enjoy the benefits of a data center without the operational hassles.

At Corning, we understand the challenges of outsourced colocation facilities, whether you're an MTDC/cloud provider or an enterprise client. We offer a wide range of colocation and multi-tenant solutions for meet-me-room, main distribution area (MDA), and caged or hall environments. Our solutions provide maximum flexibility, improved lead times, and reduced total cost of ownership. With the growing demand from the Internet of Things (IoT) and related technologies, many multitenant data centers, also known as data center colocations, need upgrades to meet new requirements.

Types of Multitenant Data Centers

The MTDC market prioritizes Power, Space, and Connectivity. The importance of power, space, and connectivity becomes evident as businesses scale and require more robust infrastructure to handle increasing data and computing demands. MTDCs can be found in various configurations, including:

Retail Colocation Data Centers (<250 kW):

• Ideal for smaller businesses needing flexible colocation solutions.

• Hundreds of customers collocated in cabinets and cages sharing cooling.

• Extensive interconnectivity with public and private cloud connections, ISPs, data center backhauls, and Internet Exchange Services.

• High number of optical fiber connections compared to smaller customer networks.

Wholesale Colocation Data Centers (250 kW to 15 MW):

• Suitable for medium to large businesses with substantial computing requirements.

• Large companies lease caged white space, data halls, or entire data centers.

• Typically used by companies with significant computing needs.

Hyperscale Leased Data Centers (15 MW – 1 GW):

• Utilized by major technology companies for large-scale operations.

• Large facilities leased by companies from data center providers.

• Designed to scale with demand and support large-scale workloads for tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

AI Specific Leased Data Centers (15 MW – 1 GW):

• Cater to companies that require specialized infrastructure for AI applications.

• Large facilities leased from data center providers with utilities and components tailored for AI networks.

Elements of Colocation Data Centers

There are many elements that go into the construction of a colocation data center. A few elements include:

Construction of Core and Shell of MTDC

Corning offers a variety of solutions to fit the needs of colocations. We have a variety of products, such as Centrix™ Cabinets, CCH Hardware, and EDGE™ Hardware.

Connectivity from POE to Customer’s Space

In the data center's Meet-Me-Room, a mix of Field-Installable and Standard-Density Solutions facilitate cable installation, providing an efficient connection point for customers to ISPs, carriers, and other tenants, enabling data exchange across different networks.

DCI

Corning's Data Center Interconnect (DCI) solutions, which come with both preterminated and semi-preconnectorized options, are designed to address your growing need for higher data bandwidth, even in the most demanding environments.

Connectivity within the Customer’s Space

The Main Distribution Area network equipment includes core routers and various switches. Within this, depending on the network needs, high density solutions such as EDGE Solutions such as EDGE Distribution System and EDGE Rapid Connect are a good fit.

Why move to a Colocation Data Center?

The need to handle growing amounts of data while keeping costs and resource use to a minimum is a significant challenge in today's digital age. Additionally, having the flexibility to scale operations up or down as needed is crucial. It's a tall order to keep a data center running optimally, reduce delays, limit downtime, and keep costs manageable. To address these complexities, many businesses are opting for colocation data centers which offer effective solutions to these data management challenges.

Many businesses use a Hybrid IT model, managing some resources within their own data center while also using an MTDC or cloud service for additional storage needs. This offers flexibility, allowing companies to adapt their data management as needs change. It also provides a safety net, reducing risk by ensuring that if one part of the system fails, the rest can continue operating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is scalability important in a data center from an infrastructure perspective?

Scalability in a data center is crucial because it supports simple migration to higher data rate connections and applications. This is a vital factor for meeting future bandwidth and transmission speeds that the IT applications require. As data production and tech advancements continue to increase, scalability enables an organization to meet customer demands for zero latency and real-time access to data.
What are the benefits of an MTDC facility and how can it cater to diverse business needs?

An MTDC facility offers a variety of cloud service provider and telecommunication carrier options, making it versatile for businesses with different needs. For instance, if an organization needs high-speed cloud services, they can outsource this specific part. If storage is the main requirement, a different MTDC facility might be more suitable. Given that many businesses have diverse needs, it's crucial not to limit to one facility as the optimal solution may involve multiple facilities.
What regions are the most beneficial for colocations? Where do colocation facilities have the most growth?

Colocations (colos) tend to be situated close to resources such as bodies of water that contribute to improved energy, power, and cooling efficiency. Many recent colocation facilities are based in these locations: Northern VA, Phoenix, Columbus, Atlanta, Dallas, and Fort Worth.
What are the three most common ways to invest or be involved with a Colocation data center?

The three primary approaches to data center investment include: 1 -Build a data center, which includes the ownership of all the space and network equipment. 2 - Leasing the physical location of the data center while owning the equipment. 3 - Utilizing cloud services, which involves leasing both the space and the network equipment.

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Introduction to Colocation Data Centers | Corning

Introduction to Colocation Data Centers